Internal fuel manifolds used in gas turbine engines may be manufactured by machining grooves into a solid ring and covering the grooves with a brazed plate such as to define fuel carrying channels about the internal fuel manifold ring. Typically, the brazed plate is in the form of a continuous ring of sheet metal which is brazed to a shoulder bordering the groove or to an outer surface of the ring. However, as the braze joint of the plate is defined along the internal surface of the plate which is subjected to pressure from the pressurized fuel flowing through the channel, the braze joint is generally subjected to tension loads, which can increase the risk of failure of the joint.
Nozzle stems may also be manufactured by machining similar grooves into a solid stem and covering the grooves with a brazed plate to define internal fuel channels within the stem. Here again, the braze joint of the plate is usually subjected to tension loads from the pressurized fuel flowing through the channel, and as such can be susceptible to failure.
Accordingly, improvements are desirable.